Module 5 – Looking for Alaska

Cover art retrieved from its record in worldcat

 

Bibliography

Green, J.  (2005). Looking for Alaska.  New York: Penguin

Summary

Miles Halter is tired of his boring life at home.  His decision to attend Culver Creek Boarding School, the school where his father attended, was made in the hope to make a new life for himself.  At the school he quickly makes friends with his room make, nicknamed The Colonel, who in turn introduced him to Alaska and Takumi. Falling in love with Alaska was life changing for Miles, especially after an accident took her life, leaving him and his friends with questions about why she died while trying to deal with their own grief.

My Impressions

This is one of those stories that some will like and others will abhor due to language and topics covered.   The author covered some heavy philosophical topics that many teens face. While it was well written, it wasn’t one of my favorite books.

Reviews/Awards

Michael L, Printz Award 2006

Teens’ Top 10 Award 2006

Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Finalist 2005

“Green…has a writer’s voice, so self-assured and honest that one is startled to learn that this novel is his first. The anticipated favorable comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended addition to young adult literature.”—VOYA

“Like Phineas in John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace,” Green draws Alaska so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers mourn her loss along with her friends.”-- School Library Journal, Starred Review

Suggested Activities

For students within a school library, the teacher could talk about the themes found within the book and have the librarian teach them how to search the database or card catalog to find additional books with similar themes.

Module 5 - Kit's Wilderness

Cover art retrieved from its record in worldcat

 Bibliography

Almond, D. (2000). Kit's Wilderness.  New York : Delacorte Press

Summary

After his grandmother died, Kit and his parents move to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town to take care of his grandfather.  Kit meets a group of kids from the old families of Stoneygate and take part in their game called Death.  The game and his growing bond with John Askew, one of the other kids, and with his grandfather leads Kit down a path of discovery.

My Impressions

This is one of my favorite books.  The mixture of realism and magical realism made for an interesting story.  This will be a book that I will reread. 

Reviews/Awards

Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2001
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2001
ALA Notable Children's Book 2001

Almond has set an enormous task for himself. But he succeeds beautifully, knitting dark and light together and suffusing the multilayered plot with an otherworldly glow.--Booklist

Almond offers another tantalizing blend of human drama, surrealism; and allegory...he takes readers on a thrilling and spine-tingling ride.--Publishers Weekly

Suggested Activities

This would be a great book to introduce a history unit that focuses on coal miners. After reading the book, teachers could instruct students to conduct research at the library about coal mines and the areas where coal mines are located.  Since the story also shows Kit's gift at storytelling, this book could possibly be used as an example of stories told within stories.  Students could be instructed to write their own short stories.

Module 4 - The Graveyard Book

 

Cover Art retrieved from its record in Worldcat

Bibliography

 Gaiman, N., & McKean, D. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins Pub. 

Summary

Nobody Owens, Bod for short, once had another name but no one knows it.  Not even Bod.  As a toddler, he lost everything when a man entered his home and killed his parents and older sister.  Climbing out of his crib and exploring the opened  door saved him from being killed.  Finding refuge in the graveyard among its inhabitants saved his life, gave him an unusual family, and he received an education no other children have.  Being under the protection of the graveyard required he stay in the graveyard, which posed problems for a growing and inquisitive child who has a thirst for knowledge and information about the world  especially after meeting a girl who visits the graveyard. . 

My Impressions

 I loved this book so much that I read it in one sitting. I can see why it won the Newbery Award. The characters and the plot is interesting.  I was able to see the parallels between Bod, the ghosts, and his supernatural guardian and the characters in Kipling's Jungle Book. 

Reviews/Awards

 

The Carnegie Medal 2010

The Newbery Medal 2009

The Hugo Award 2009

"A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising," said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño.

 

"Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished."— Horn Book (starred review)

"THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form. In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment." ---New York Times Book Review 

Suggested Activities

This would be a great book to display at a public library during October for Halloween.  In a school library it would be a great introduction to ghost stories and other legends.